UC Davis researchers receive grant to study depression and suicide in older men

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) —

Researchers at UC Davis have received a three-year, $725,000 grant from the National Institute on Mental Health to develop new, creative approaches to decreasing the burden of late-life depression and the risk of suicide among older men.

“One of the most important findings from this study was older men’s preference for the involvement of family members in their depression care,” Hinton said. “This newly funded grant will allow us to develop an innovative and family-based intervention model to enhance the delivery of depression care to older men in primary care settings.”

Depression is one of the strongest risk factors for suicide, and men who kill themselves frequently have had a recent prior contact with their primary-care physicians. Older men are significantly less likely than women to receive effective depression treatment. The barriers to receiving care are not well understood, but include traditional masculine values and the fear of being stigmatized.

The study will be conducted in primary-care clinics at San Joaquin County General Hospital in French Camp, Calif. The earlier research identified family involvement as key to reducing older men’s risk of depression and suicide. A primary focus of the research will be engaging patients’ families in their care.

Hinton’s collaborators in the new endeavor at UC Davis will include Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, director, the UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities; Ester Carolina Apesoa-Varano, assistant professor in the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis; and Richard Kravitz, professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Internal Medicine. Other collaborators include Ramiro Zuniga, San Joaquin General Hospital, Jürgen Unützer of the University of Washington in Seattle and Megan Dwight-Johnson, of RAND in Los Angeles.

The UC Davis School of Medicine is among the nation's leading medical schools, recognized for its research and primary-care programs. The school offers fully accredited master's degree programs in public health and in informatics, and its combined M.D.-Ph.D. program is training the next generation of physician-scientists to conduct high-impact research and translate discoveries into better clinical care. Along with being a recognized leader in medical research, the school is committed to serving underserved communities and advancing rural health. For more information, visit UC Davis School of Medicine at medschool.ucdavis.edu.